Page 11 of Vows of Blood

The answer seems obvious, that the mighty Alfonso Calvano, with a list of enemies as long as my arm, was targeted on a rare outing from his isolated mansion, but that he’s alive and unharmed, tells a different story.

“You don’t.” I guess. “You think they were after me.” Meeting his sharp eyes, so dark they’re almost black, I sigh as he stares back unblinking, neither confirming nor denying, but that’s an answer in itself coming from Corso.

This wasn’t a hit on the Don.

“Find out. And Corso? All information comes to me first. If they were after me, I’ll be the one to deal with them.”

Tell me first, not my old man, is the underlying order.

My capo nods and moves off. He’s loyal to me, and he’ll do everything in his power, if not within the law, to bring me the people responsible.

“Here,” one of my soldiers, Tony shouts, leading the wary-looking paramedics across the debris. “Through here.”

They burst through the swinging double doors moments later.

Sienna shifts aside to let them work but stays close, arms wrapped around her middle, answering their questions clearly and concisely.

How long has she been unconscious? What’s her pulse been doing? Where’s the entry wound?

Sienna sounds like a professional because she was supposed to be one. And was well on her way to becoming a doctor the last time I saw her.

“Luca.” My brother, Nico, cuts through the chatter of the emergency personnel and the beeping of the blood pressure cuff as he rushes into the room. “Who’s… oh fuck.”

One hand goes to his head when he realizes it’s Kate being lifted onto a board. He doesn’t bother with stupid questions. One look at her, and you can tell it’s not good.

Then, “Oh shit. Is that? No. No way.” He’s not looking at Kate anymore. He’s staring at Sienna, looking as stunned as I feel. “Sienna?”

She gives the merest tip of her head in acknowledgement, continuing to give the paramedics as much information as she can.

“Yes, it is.” Eyes glued to her, I don’t volunteer any more information than that, because I don’t have it.

“What the hell is she doing here?” He hisses, glancing around nervously, then, eyes going wide, “Did you know she worked here when you bought this place?”

“No, I didn’t know,” I snap. The words taste bitter. I had no idea, and that doesn’t sit well with me. I don’t like surprises.

Despite trying to ignore him and to focus on what the paramedics are doing and saying, Nico continues.

“A waitress? Sienna Fox? I thought she was going to be a doctor?”

I give him a look, willing him to shut the fuck up. “I know what she was going to be.”

She was top of her class and on track to graduate early.

Whenever I pictured her life over the last ten years, she had her own practice, and an adoring, if not dull, husband who came home at a reasonable hour and didn’t carry a gun.

Not this.

“There’s nothing wrong with being a waitress, but with her qualifications?” Nico muses, eyeing her with suspicion.

He’s right. It just doesn’t make sense.

“Loading her now.” The paramedic snaps me back to the present.

Kate’s on the stretcher, oxygen mask over her face and disturbingly pale. They’ve got IVs running, pressure bandages packed against the wound, and a defibrillator at the ready.

I move to Kate’s side. “I’m coming with you.”

The paramedic shakes his head. “No room. We need space to work on her. She’s critical.”